Seder 123: Numbers 27---The Request of Zelophehad's Daughters

 As we are reminded in Numbers 26, certain family lines of the Israelites ended in the wilderness.  For example, there were no descendants of Dathan and Abiram to inherit land in Canaan, nor were there any descendants of Er and Onan.  

There were other families with no male heir, and according to custom, women did not inherit land.  After the census the women from one such family approached Moses to point out the unfairness in this custom.  Their father Zelophehad had not been a rebel like Dathan or Abiram; instead, he had "died for his own sin" (Num 27:3).  But like Dathan and Abiram, his name would not be preserved.  

There are lots of speculations in Jewish tradition about what "sin" of Zelophehad is in view in Num 27:3.  One popular one, proposed by Rabbi Akiva in the second century AD, is that Zelophehad was the Sabbath-breaker of Num 15:32-36.  However, there is no real evidence in the Bible for this identification.  Another sage, Judah ben Beteira, objected to Akiva's speculation.  If Akiva was right, Judah said, he had revealed a name that God chose not to reveal.  And if he was wrong, then Akiva had slandered an innocent party.  Either way, Judah said, God would hold him accountable (Sanhedrin 96b).  

Others have speculated that perhaps Zelophehad died at the hands of Canaanites in a previous battle--e.g., Num 21:1 or Num 14:39-45.  There is also nothing in the Bible to back up these guesses.  Most likely the daughters simply meant that he had died like all the rest of the older generation, for the collective sin of lacking the faith to proceed to the Promised Land.  

God honored the request of Zelophehad's daughters.  They, and other women after them, would be able to inherit land in situations where there was no male heir (Num 27:5-11).  Like the case of Second Passover (Num 9), this was a situation where where human initiative prompted a new Torah provision.

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on November 5, 2022, Kyle Kettering discussed the bravery of these young women, who were at this point still unmarried (see Num 36).  

Seder 109: Numbers 8 and 9---Offering of the Levites, Second Passover

 Numbers 7 celebrates the large, identical gifts presented by the tribes of Israel at the dedication of the altar.  The tribe of Levi did not give one of those gifts because of its special role,  Instead it was receiving and processing those gifts.  

Moreover, the tribe of Levi itself constituted a gift to God, replacing the firstborn sons that God had saved at Passover.  They were presented to God as a "wave offering" (Num 8:11) as a kind of "living sacrifice" (think of Rom 12:1).    

Service at the tabernacle involved strenuous physical work.  A male Levite's active service extended from age 25 to age 50 (vv 24-26).  The census of Levites had counted men from ages 30-50 (Num 4:3).  Perhaps a Levite's service began with a 5-year apprenticeship.  On the other hand, the DSS and LXX have the census in Num 4:3 covering ages 25-50 years.  

Later in Israel's history, during the time of the kings, a Levite's service began at age 20 (1 Chron 23:24-27; 2 Chron 31:16-17).  By that point their duties were a little less strenuous and sensitive than they were at the tabernacle in the wilderness.

At Sinai the Israelites celebrated Passover on the anniversary of their rescue from Egypt.  Some who could not participate because of ritual uncleanness asked about the possibility of an opportunity for them to celebrate their redemption (Num 9:6-7).  Moses took the matter to God, who set up a "second Passover" for those unable to participate in the first one.  Here we see God acting as a patient and effective teacher.  

Planning was required for the celebration.  In the days of Jesus many arrived in Jerusalem early to take care of any ritual purification that would be required (John 11:55).  Of course, in the year of the crucifixion, there were some who were plotting Jesus' death, which would certainly lead to some additional "corpse uncleanness" (v 57).